Argument Over No. 1 Looms

If More Than One Contender Loses, Howls Will Begin

November 23, 1998|By Andrew Bagnato, Tribune Staff Writer.

Tennessee is perfect. So are Kansas State and UCLA.

But college football's latest method of determining a national champion is far from perfect. And with only four games left for the three unbeaten national-title contenders, time is running out for a clear resolution of the debate over who's No. 1 on campus.

Which is another way of saying that someone is likely to be screaming on Dec. 6, when the final Bowl Championship Series rankings will determine the Fiesta Bowl pairing.

Tennessee visits Vanderbilt Saturday and then will play either Mississippi State or Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference playoff Dec. 5 in Atlanta. Kansas State will take on Texas A&M in the Big 12 title game Dec. 5 in St. Louis. And UCLA visits Miami Dec. 5.

If one contender loses, there will be no arguments over the Fiesta pairing. If two lose, once-beaten Florida State stands ready to slip in. If all three lose, Florida State could wind up facing Ohio State in a rematch of last year's Sugar Bowl, a Seminoles romp. The Seminoles completed an 11-1 season with a 23-12 victory over Florida Saturday.

With Tennessee, Kansas State and UCLA remaining unbeaten, there were no shifts in either major poll on Sunday. Tennessee is the top pick in the Associated Press (media) poll, while Kansas State is No. 1 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches vote.

The polls are part of the formula used to determine the BCS standings, which will be released Monday. For the last two weeks Tennessee has led the BCS, followed by UCLA and Kansas State.

Fry on griddle: One day after the Iowa Hawkeyes completed the worst season in Hayden Fry's 20-year tenure, the head coach reportedly met Sunday with Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby and the football coaching staff to discuss whether he will retire.

Fry is expected to address his players Monday, and could make an announcement after the meeting. Fry, who turns 70 in February, has 420 career victories, fourth on the all-time Division I list. The Hawkeyes finished 3-8 this year, with victories over Northwestern, Illinois and Central Michigan. Speculation on a replacement has centered on Florida defensive coordinator Bob Stoops, a former All-Big Ten defensive back at Iowa.

Fry last spring promoted Bob Elliott to assistant head coach in what was viewed as an effort to improve Elliott's shot at the job. But Elliott, a former Hawkeyes academic All-American defensive back and the son of former Iowa Athletic Director Bump Elliott, has been fighting a rare, life-threatening blood disorder. He undergoes daily chemotherapy.

"I'm not employable right now, frankly, so if coach retires, I'm kind of stuck," Elliott told the Des Moines Register after Iowa's 49-7 loss at Minnesota Saturday. "This will be a real interesting time in my life."

Unlikely scenario: Though there's still a farfetched possibility that Wisconsin won't appear in the Rose Bowl, the Big Ten co-champs are proceeding as if they've already been invited.

The only potential stumbling block would come if Ohio State rises, through a series of upsets, into one of the top two slots in the BCS standings, thus qualifying for a Fiesta Bowl berth. That would leave the Rose Bowl free to choose any eligible team--including Notre Dame--but it's unlikely the game would pass up the Badgers.

Bowls filling up: The rest of the bowl picture began to come into focus Sunday when No. 16 Virginia accepting a Peach Bowl bid. Florida, which lost its showdown with Florida State, looks like a lock for the Citrus Bowl, where it probably will face Ohio State.